It's Hope That Makes Me Carry On
by spoodle monkey
Summary: It's one of those once-in-a-lifetime loves. Cooper/Mick


Disclaimer: Do not own

A/N- Well this one took on a life of it's own... :D Anywho, this is me setting out to prove that Mick and Cooper are secretly married. Enjoy!

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><p>Friday night sees them with a successfully closed case, wide-awake with whatever adrenaline is left coursing through them and nothing to do. So when Prophet suggests the local pub, none of them turn it down.<p>

They spend the night there, laughing, drinking and unwinding until Gina starts nodding off at the table and by the looks of it, she's not the only one.

"I'll drive you home." Prophet offers and Gina accepts and they head for the door. Beth lasts another hour before calling a cab.

"Always the last one to leave." She teases as she collects her coat and bag and heads for the door and Cooper grins mysteriously after her. Mick watches the exchange with interest, taking another long drink from his beer.

"So." He says, rolling the bottle between his hands. He's still wide-awake, getting behind the scope of his rifle does that to him. He's not going to be able to sleep for another couple of hours at least. And Cooper- well to be honest, Cooper probably won't be able to sleep until he knows Mick can.

"So." Cooper repeats sagely and Mick snorts.

"Which movie should we watch?"

"Die Hard?" Mick shoots him a look across the table, tosses some money down and pulls his coat on. Cooper stands with him, covering the rest of the bill and waiting for him as he fumbles in his pockets for his cell. "It's a classic." Cooper defends, the hint of a smile threatening to break out across his face. Mick finds himself watching for more than a beat- just to see if it will break free.

"Seven times." He reminds the other man, finally liberating his phone as he dials for a cab. "Seven and a half if you count,"

"That doesn't count." Cooper leads the way to the exit. "The power went out."

"I'm just saying," Mick pauses to rattle off the address as his call is picked up, then he hangs up. "That maybe we should try something else. Like _The Losers_."

"You just like the sniper." Cooper holds the door open, waits for Mick to walk through and then follows close behind. Sometimes he wonders if Cooper has always had the need to leave a building last.

Mick just smirks and bumps the other mans shoulder lightly. "You see right through me."

::

"Hey."

Mick grunts and drops into his chair, setting his feet up on his desk and slouching down as far as he can go.

"Well aren't we talkative this morning." There should be a rule, he decides, where morning people cannot work with people who would rather get up around noon. "Rough weekend?" Gina asks, curiosity piqued.

Mick thinks back over his weekend and thinks, _yeah_, definitely rough.

"Mick," He listens as she shifts in her chair and then finally gets up and comes round to sit on the edge of his desk. He does so cherish their early morning gossip sessions, where he's too tired to fend off her questions. "Did you go home this weekend?"

"No." He answers, tips his head back and closes his eyes in the hope that _maybe, _just _maybe_ she'll leave him alone until he's had some coffee. "Well, just for clothes."

No such luck.

"What's her name?" Gina asks, voice filled with sudden humour and Mick thinks, _huh_?

"What?" Is what he so eloquently says.

"Her name. The woman you were with all weekend."

His sleep deprived brain is putting two and two together and getting one hundred and twenty-seven so he isn't really thinking when he opens his mouth and says,

"It wasn't a woman."

Gina makes a strange strangled sound and he opens his eyes to find a look that can only be described as utter _joy_ spreading across her face. Across the room, out of her line of sight, Prophet has stopped half in the door. He looks around, likes he's not completely sure he's where he's supposed to be, blinks and then turns and leaves. Mick watches him go and makes a memo to switch the man to decaf later.

"I always suspected but I never wanted to say anything before, just in case, you know?" Gina babbles happily and Mick watches her warily and decides that the entire team should just be switched to decaf. Except for him. And Cooper. Because Cooper was terrifying to be around when he didn't have his caffeine.

"Hey." Gina breaks off as Cooper strolls in, mug in hand. She shoots Mick furtive little glances which he ignores in favour of the chipped mug being handed to him.

"Cheers." He murmurs and groans as he catches a whiff of Coopers special brew. The kind that if it wasn't given to you, you _did not _touch. He inhales half the mug before turning his attention back to his teammates.

"How was your weekend?" He finds Gina asking Cooper and Mick decides he's lucid enough to join the conversation.

"He got his arse handed to him." Mick smirks and holds the cup of coffee up, close enough that he should be fully awake from _fumes_ alone.

"I went easy on you." Cooper shoots back, grinning. Gina looks from one man to the other, confusion written on her face.

"Twenty seven hours of Halo and you went _easy _on me?" He scoffs and leans further back in his chair.

"Had to." Cooper ducks his head and Mick watches over the edge of the mug. "Since I made you sit through the first two Die Hard movies."

"Wait," Gina cuts in, hands held up as though to forestall any further comments. "You two spent the entire weekend together?"

"Well, yeah." Mick says, because it's fairly obvious to him. Cooper shrugs and nods. "Coop gave me a ride to work this morning." His grin turns devious as he shares a look with the other man. "Only stopped by my flat to pick up a change of clothes. Rest of the weekend I schooled him on Xbox."

"I let you." Cooper reminds him and anything further is cut off by the arrival of their next case.

::

"I'm going in with you."

"I'll be fine."

"You don't know for sure that the unsub isn't in there."

"Mick," Coopers hand rests, warm and heavy on his shoulder. He catches Mick's gaze and holds it in the intense, _warm_ way only Cooper can manage. "I'll call if I need any help. Promise."

It doesn't do anything to distil the worry in him and the chill that seeps in when Cooper pulls his hand away doesn't help either. It leaves him feeling _alone_ and like he's about to send his partner into a possibly dangerous situation with barely any backup.

"I'll keep an eye on him." Beth assures him, hand on her gun as they head towards the condemned building, and yeah- okay maybe there isn't anyone else he'd rather have watching Coopers back than Beth if it can't be him, but it doesn't stop him from worrying.

Because Mick is stuck on the outside, finding a place to watch the perimeter, while Cooper goes inside where he cant see him.

"Hey." Prophet walks with him as he scouts for a spot to settle in. "We've done this a million times. Relax."

"I am relaxed." Mick grits out and he's definitely got to work on his control because Prophet just rolls his eyes and mutters something about married couples. Gina catches the comment if her stifled laughter is any sign but Mick has just spotted the one area where he can watch the perimeter _and_ see inside parts of the building. He takes off to get settled in and keep an eye on his partner.

"I've got eyes on you two." He murmurs into the comm.

"_Never doubted it for a moment."_ Comes Coopers reply. He watches the other man through the scope and grins when he looks out the window right at Mick. _"Kinda like the ducks."_

Mick snorts and thinks of ducks and impromptu trips into ponds and feels some of the tension that has built up between his shoulder blades ease and he relaxes into his role as sniper.

"Lots of sitting and waiting for them to leave." He agrees easily.

" _They were armed."_

Ducks, he thinks, never to be trusted.

"_What are they talking about?"_ Beth mutters over the comm. Nearby he can see Prophet shrug.

Mick chuckles quietly and waits to see if there will be any excitement.

::

The Unsub is holed up in a house in a small town with a family held hostage. No one is getting close, not with the firepower the Unsub is packing, anyone who tries takes heavy fire and has to retreat back to the hasty barrier of squad cars.

There are two other snipers on sight but neither of them can get a clear shot they're willing to take, one that won't harm the hostages. Mick lifts one of the rifles, tests it and hands it back to one of the other snipers. He won't do enough good with their rifles, it wont be a sure shot.

"We need to do something." One of the local detectives is going toe to toe with Prophet about jurisdiction and time; like they don't know that time is running out.

"We have agents on the way. You just need to wait a little while longer, rushing in is just going to get the family, and possibly your officers, killed."

Mick keeps silent and lets his partner do the talking because no small town detective is going to intimidate Prophet, or coerce him into making hasty judgements. The mere fact that the man is barely trying is just proof that it's mostly for show, because no one wants to look like they don't know what to do.

The black Tahoe pulls up and the rest of their team climbs out.

"Unsub is in the house, family is being held hostage." Mick meets Cooper as the other agent goes around the back of the truck to open the trunk. Gina, Beth and Prophet join them a moment later with the detective hovering nearby, listening in and looking relieved.

"Looks like he has a lot of fire power in there too. He's been taking shots at anyone who gets too close." Prophet adds, eyes trained back on the house. "Local snipers haven't been able to get a shot. And Mick," he glances at Mick quickly. "Couldn't get a shot either, not with their rifles."

There's no hostility behind the statement and Mick just nods in agreement because he can't take the shot, maybe if he had no other choice but it's too risky. The thing about a sniper and his rifle is that with the right rifle, it becomes an extension of you and Mick knows that with his rifle, he's spoiled for every other one that comes along. He isn't certain he can make the shot with the cities rifles and that's just not acceptable, not when he can make the shot with his own.

So he's already reaching out as Cooper hands him his rifle, already assembled for him by skilled hands. The weight is familiar in his hands, put together beautifully in only a way someone who _knew_ the rifle could.

"Go take the shot." Cooper claps his shoulder lightly, hand lingering. Mick grins, small and smug because he already has the perfect spot mapped out in his head.

"The shots too risky." The detective, Grayson, steps forwards. "My guys already agreed on this. We have to take the house."

"I can take the shot."

"You couldn't take the shot five minutes ago." Grayson argues and he has a valid point but then again, he doesn't know Mick.

"It's too risky going in right now." Cooper goes for placating, steps forwards and rests a hand on the detectives arm. Mick watches his hand, unable to tear his gaze away. "Let us take the shot. But have your men ready to move."

Grayson hurries off and Mick steps forwards the sudden urge to have Cooper's hands on him again forefront in his mind. The other agent looks at him, catches his eye and reaches out, resting a warm, calloused hand on the back of his neck.

"Take the shot." Cooper squeezes lightly and Mick's focused again.

Mick sets up, sights the target and just _breathes_.

::

"Heading out?"

The voice startles him and he jerks upright, head colliding with the top shelf of his locker painfully. Hands on his waist steady him as he stumbles back, rubbing at the sore area and groaning.

"Nice." Gina smirks at him when it becomes apparent that most of the noise is for show and Cooper slowly lets go of his waist like he's just waiting for Mick to keel over the second he's not looking. Except he's _always_ looking.

"I'm glad you find my pain entertaining." He mutters, scowling at his open locker like it is to blame for everything that has ever gone wrong in his life.

"I'd ice that when you get home if I were you." Cooper leans in close and runs gentle fingers over where a bump is already forming.

"I would if I could get into my apartment." Mick just scowls harder as Cooper pulls away to give him a confused stare. Gina mimics the expression, however unintentionally and leans back against the bank of lockers.

"You're locked out?" She asks and it could be amusement trying to spread across her face, but it could be concern and he's too tired to call her on it at the moment. All he wants to do is go home, crawl into bed and sleep for a _very _long time.

"I can't find my keys." He scrubs a frustrated hand through his hair and winces when he brushes the bump. "I had them this morning. Left them in my locker and now, nothing." He summons up his darkest glare but the locker does not bow to his will and present him with his missing keys.

"If that's all it is just use the copy you gave me." Cooper digs into his pocket and pulls out a key ring with five keys attached. Mick knows what every one of those keys opens.

"Thanks Coop." He murmurs as the other man slides the key off the chain and presses it gently into his palm.

"Wait," Gina breaks in and Mick tears his eyes away from the warm smile flitting across Cooper's face. "You have a key to Mick's apartment?"

"It's only fair, I have a key to his." Mick points out and pockets the spare key, the shine dimmed from use.

"You do?" Gina looks from one agent to the other, eyes wide and incredulous and Mick isn't sure why she finds it so surprising. They stare back at her and eventually she gives in and continues. "It's just, I don't have a key to Beth or Prophets apartments. Or either of yours." She narrows her eyes, hands planted firmly on her hips. "Is there something you want to tell me, guys?"

Mick looks to Cooper hoping he's taking more from the conversation than he is, but his face is suspiciously blank. Mick shrugs and decides that he wants to get home before the pounding in his head gets any worse.

"Is that offer for a ride home still on the table?" He asks.

"What?" Gina blinks. "When did he offer you a ride home?" Mick gingerly taps the bump forming on his forehead and Cooper offers a guilty shrug. "I was standing right there, he didn't say,"

"Got your jacket?" Cooper cuts in and Gina just sighs and apparently gives up. Mick nods, grabs it and his bag from his locker and slams the door shut, feeling just in doing so.

"Always." Because while Cooper may be a furnace when it comes to body heat, riding behind him on his motorcycle is still _way_ too cold for Mick in just his sweater.

::

"You two," Beth says one late afternoon while they're in the middle of a particularly gruesome case and the two of them are off checking a lead. "Are married."

"Who?" Mick asks, distracted as he pulls half heartedly on a board hammered to the outside of a window. The condemned building stands two stories tall and sealed for all intents and purposes to them. Honestly, he isn't completely sure why they're there. "Me and Gina?" He thinks back to the couple they had pretended to be earlier that day to get close to a suspect. It wasn't awkward, they're too close for it to be, but it hadn't felt _right_.

"No." Beth snorts and succeeds in pulling away a large plank covering the door. If their unsub is there, he has no idea how he had gotten in. "You and Cooper."

Mick doesn't reply right away. He tests the door handle and finds, that without the plank it swings open rather easily. He grins, pulls out his flashlight and his gun and says, "Ladies first."

Beth rolls her eyes but takes the lead nonetheless, stepping out of the late afternoon sun and into the dim, stuffy interior of the decaying house. He waves for the black and whites with them to wait out front and follows the other agent.

"What makes you think we're married?" He finally asks as the quiet of the house seeps in on them.

Beth clears one room and then the other, calling over her shoulder as she goes. "I can't believe you're asking me that."

"We work together." Mick protests. "And we'd probably end up killing each other."

"What I'm not hearing," Beth pauses in the kitchen, the old floorboards creaking ominously beneath them. "Are any claims that you're straight or that Cooper is. And all I said is that you two are married. Not _sleeping _together." She raises an eyebrow, the smirk never quite reaching her lips but there nonetheless and Mick feels a flush rising up his neck.

Then he hears it.

He brings his gun up, muscles tense as he listens. Beth matches his movements, barely breathing as they wait for the noise again. They hear it, but this time they're ready. They swing around, guns raised, flashlights trained in front of them and. A mouse scurries by, frightened away by the light.

"You've got to be kidding me." Mick mutters lowly.

Beth lets out a laugh- nerves of steel that woman- and turns towards the door.

"Come on Romeo," she teases. "Let's check the rest of the house."

"That would make Cooper Juliet." He points out. He's never liked that story. There was no happy ending to be found.

Mick takes a step forwards and the floor gives out beneath him.

::

He wakes up feeling warm and _very_ content. In fact, so warm and content that he can't really feel his arms or legs.

Ah. He knows this stuff. This is the _good_ stuff.

Mick peels open one eye and when he deems it safe, lazily peels open the other.

The room is dim but there's a light on next to his hospital bed. It casts shadows around the room and the people in it. He spots Gina curled up in a chair at the end of the bed, jacket slipping from where it was thrown over her shoulders as a make shift blanket. He can't see Beth but that's okay because he spots Cooper a second later, sitting next to his bed, slouched down in the chair and looking rather uncomfortable. But he's asleep regardless, mouth twisted into a frown and hand resting lax on the blankets next to Mick's leg.

"Hey." Mick tilts his head to the right and finds Prophet sitting there. There are dark circles under his eyes but he looks pleased, a smile spreading across his face and Mick feels one of his own joining it.

"Hey." He slurs and frowns because it's harder to speak than it should be. Prophet offers him some water and he drinks, then tries speaking again, pleased with how it comes out the second time. "What happened?"

"You fell through some floorboards, genius."

"Ah." Mick nods sagely and then pauses. "How long ago?"

"Two days." Prophet swallows and looks away. "Beth went to get some coffee." Mick blinks and tries his hardest to follow the direction the conversation has taken but he's not having much luck. "That's why she's not here." Prophet explains.

Oh. Well, that makes sense.

"So," Prophet says, gaze bouncing over Mick's face like he isn't quite sure where to look and Mick wonders what's going on in that thick skull of his. "You and Cooper, huh?"

"Me and Cooper?" He repeats and wonders why everyone seems to link the two of them together.

"Yeah. I'm happy for you man," Prophet says earnestly and Mick thinks, _thank you thank god thank whoever for the medication. _He doesn't think he could have this conversation sober.

"We're not together." He protests but it's half hearted. Because he wouldn't really mind if they were, now would he? He blames it on the drugs.

"He's your next of kin. The doctors wouldn't tell us anything until he got here from _Washington_." That was a bit of a drive if Mick remembers correctly. He isn't sure at this point.

"It doesn't mean anything." Mick murmurs, eyelids feeling heavy.

"It _does_." Prophet stresses. And Mick just wants to know why it's so important. "It _will_."

"Well," Mick reaches out blindly, just far enough so he can nudge Coopers hand with his own. Even in sleep Cooper shifts until their hands are loosely linked. "You are the Prophet." And he falls into a dreamless sleep.

::

It's starts raining at the crime scene barely twenty minutes after they get there. It's an old crime scene so it's more of a rush to get out of the downpour than to save any evidence that might be left over from a two year old crime.

They're at a Victorian style house with peeling paint that must have been white at one point, sitting on the edge of a forest and next to a stream. Cooper, Prophet and Beth dart over to the van, seeking shelter there with Gina and Mick on their heels. But the rain is coming down in sheets, plastering his hair to his face and dripping into his eyes. It's only been a few moments but he's already half drenched and his leather jackets probably ruined and he _knows_ its one of those days when Gina slips next to him.

She starts to slide down the bank of the stream as the ground beneath her feet becomes loose. Mick reaches out, grabs her arm and tries to pull her back up but he's fighting a loosing battle against the once solid ground.

"I need some help here!" He shouts as his balance suddenly leaves and he's left tilting forwards, sneakers sinking into the wet earth.

"Hang on!" Prophet calls back.

But with a startled yell they're falling down the embankment to land in the water and muck below.

For a moment he just lays there as the shock of what has happened sinks in and then Gina is leaping out of the mud with a shriek but only succeeds in falling in again- this time on her ass.

Mick blinks the mud out of his eyes and starts laughing, long and loud at the outraged look on the other agents face.

"I don't see how this is funny." Gina scowls and wipes a muddy hand through her equally muddy hair. This just sets him off again and he sits up enough so that he doesn't accidentally swallow any mud.

"You look like Swamp Thing." He laughs harder, because sitting in the cold, wet mud, soaked to the bone- it's the funniest thing he's seen all day.

His laughter cuts off abruptly as a ball of mud hits him right on the nose.

Gina smirks at him but it doesn't last long before they're both laughing, probably looking like lunatics.

"Mud suits you two." Prophet grins down at them and then yells as twin handfuls of mud are launched at him.

"Okay, you've had your fun." Beth shakes her head but she's smiling nonetheless. "Time to get back to work."

Mick sighs, laughter trailing off because they really do need to be getting back to work; and he knows Cooper's going to agree with Beth. Sometimes Mick worries about their cases, about how wrapped up in them Cooper becomes and how he doesn't seem to be able to let go after.

But Cooper, standing up at the top of the embankment catches his eye and _winks_ at him. And it takes him a moment but he catches the look between Prophet and Cooper and has to hide his grin because Beth is going to _kill_ them.

She swears loudly as she slides down into the mud, cursing them the entire way but he figures they make up for it when he grabs Cooper and Cooper grabs Prophet and they all tumble back into the mud below.

And somehow Cooper ends up sprawled across him in the muck and Beth has Prophet pinned in the mud but it's all background noise to the way they're grinning at each other, soaking wet and foreheads pressed together. His grin softens as he catches Coopers eyes and their noses brush and he thinks_ this_, this is _perfect_. And they're so close they could-

A flash goes off and the two men turn their heads to stare at the rest of the team. Two cell phones, somehow not damaged by the mud are quickly stowed away inside pockets while Beth just smirks and rolls her eyes.

"I think I'll make that my desktop." Gina muses to Prophet.

"I was thinking black mail, myself." They share a grin.

Mick doesn't really care, so long as he gets a copy.

He glances at Cooper, quirks an eyebrow and receives a wink in return and together they tackle the other agents back into the mud.

::

"How's he doing?" Mick comes to stand next to Beth in front of the doors to the morgue. He unconsciously mimics her position, arms crossed, back straight and frowning as they watch through the little square windows.

"Truthfully?" She asks and he nods though he knows she would never tell him anything else. "Bad. Not as bad as the last time this happened, but. He's been in there for an hour."

About the amount of time it had taken Mick and Prophet to finish up at the scene after Cooper had left with the body.

The thing about their job- no matter how much he may love it on good days- is that it doesn't always come with a guaranteed happy ending. He wished it, god did he ever, but it just wasn't that easy.

And Cooper. It felt like they lost a little more of Cooper every time they couldn't find the victim in time.

"I'll talk to him." Mick murmurs and rests a hand lightly on the cool door.

"I know." Beth says simply.

He pushes the door open to the morgue and steps into the cool room, shivering at the sudden drop in temperature. He pulls the sleeves of his sweater down further until all that's left are his fingertip, a self conscious movement he thinks but doesn't do anything to correct it.

Cooper doesn't so much as look up as he comes in, just continues to sit perfectly still, eyes glued to the young woman lying on the table.

Mick grabs another stool and pulls it up next to Coopers, sitting down. He sits there and waits and watches and knows that Cooper isn't going to move until he's ready. And nothing anyone can say will help at this point.

So instead Mick slides closer so their shoulders are touching and reaches out, gently tangling their hands together, not caring who sees. And Cooper lets out a deep sigh, like he's been waiting for the contact, like he's been craving it as much as Mick has. And he squeezes Mick's hand and doesn't let go for a very long time, past the point where their hands fall asleep and the cold has seeped right into their bones. But Mick makes no move to pull away.

::

"You shouldn't have taken that shot!"

"They only made it out _because_ I took the shot."

Mick's breathing hard, hands clenched into fists and one final push away from punching another FBI agent. His face is flushed and he's seeing red and part of him is very glad that he doesn't have his gun on him at the moment.

"You endangered _everyone_, risking this entire operation for your ego!"

And Mick may be a little egotistical and perhaps too proud of his work, but he would _never_ endanger _anyone_ just to stroke his own ego.

"Listen you son of,"

"Hey!" Beth cuts in plants a hand firmly on his chest and pushes until he and the other agent have some space between them. "Quit with the macho, testosterone filled bullshit! We got the guy."

"I'm going to have you brought up on charges!" The agent towers over Beth, reaching around her to shove his finger in Mick's face. Mick reaches up and knocks his hand away, sneering at him.

"Go ahead. Let's see them stick."

"This is the last case you'll be working." The agent promises and turns and stalks away. Mick and Beth watch him go before Beth rounds on him, hands planted firmly on her hips.

"What the hell was all that?"

He does owe her an explanation; she's the only thing that had stopped him from knocking the other man flat on his ass.

"Agent Saunders is under the _impression_ that I took the shot to look good." Mick narrows his eyes as he watches the man in question march up to where Prophet and Cooper are talking. He continues to watch as the man starts to yell, catching the attention of a few of the cops in the area. Cooper nods lightly, says something back and pulls out his phone.

"He thinks it was to stroke my own bloody ego."

"Look," Beth says and he tears his gaze away from where Cooper is now handing the agent his phone. "The man is clearly an idiot and looking to cover his own ass for not doing anything. I wouldn't worry about it." She turns and heads off to check in on the victim, now sitting safe in the back of an ambulance because of Mick's shot.

"Coop!" He calls out, jogging up to the other man as he heads towards the vans. Agent Saunders is nowhere to be seen. "Listen, I had to take the shot."

"I know." Cooper replies and turns to face him with a half smile. And just like that any of the self-doubt that had been creeping in, disappears. "I got this one."

"Coop," He starts because he doesn't want Cooper getting in any more trouble because of him.

"We're family." Which is always Coopers fall back answer but it's never fake, never forced. He honestly believes they are and Mick finds himself putting his faith in that thought.

::

They're out at a bar. The music is loud, the lights are low and Mick is feeling mellow, feeling more relaxed than he has in awhile. They have a booth, the five of them. Somehow they had managed to subconsciously pick out the one booth in the entire place where they could see _everything_. Off the clock but still working. Beth and Cooper get up to play a game of pool and Prophet goes off to get another round for the table and the next Mick knows, a pretty red head is sliding into the booth next to him.

Across from him Gina quirks an eyebrow and hides her knowing grin behind her drink.

"Buy me a drink?" The red head asks, bats her eyelashes and leans in close with a hand on Mick's thigh.

In that moment he knows that he could easily get laid, take her back to his apartment, or maybe hers, easier for a quick escape come morning. Her dress has a low neckline and a high hemline and she's clearly interested.

But she's thin, no muscle to her. And pale, petite- her eyes are the wrong colour, voice not deep enough, not husky enough and her smile, while inviting, just isn't the same.

"Sorry darling," He gently removes her hand with a friendly but apologetic smile. "But I'm already taken."

The red head pouts but leaves gracefully, heading for the bar. Mick watches her go but doesn't feel any remorse at passing up what she had to offer.

"You love him, don't you?" Gina asks, head tilted and resting in her palm as she studies him across the table.

"Who?" He asks and takes a long drink, dismayed when he empties the bottle. Mick tries to spot Prophet in the crowd, but it looks like the man has disappeared into the masses surrounding the bar.

"Cooper." She says with a bit of wonderment in her voice.

He thinks about it, eyes trained on the dance floor; thinks about who he is closest to, who he thinks about, who he constantly needs to touch.

His gaze drifts over to the pool tables and he watches fondly as Cooper realizes that Beth has been hustling the game.

"Perhaps." He says with a hint of a smile.

"Does he know?" Gina presses and Mick shrugs. "I used to think that you two were already together. But now." She sighs and rolls her beer bottle between her hands. "Now it's like you're almost there but there's something holding you both back."

Knowing, Mick thinks. He hadn't known what it all meant. What it could lead to. He's not sure if Cooper _knows_ yet.

"She cheats." Cooper announces, sliding into the booth next to Mick. It jolts him out of his thoughts and he grins.

"Of course she does." He says as Beth high fives Gina across the table. "What I want to know is, why didn't you?"

Cooper drapes an arm across the back of the booth and behind Mick's shoulders. Even with all of the space in the large booth, they're pressed snug together and Mick suddenly feels very warm. It's comfortable and it feels a lot like contentment. Cooper shifts closer like he's chasing after the feeling too.

"I tried." He confides and Mick snorts.

Prophet finally makes it back to the booth with their drinks and stares at them all like they're crazy when Beth asks if he wants to play pool and they can't stop laughing.

::

His hands are slick with sweat but his gun doesn't waver from where it's pointed at Rick Adams, their unsub. Adam's eyes are wild; his face, neck and hands scratched from where his victim had been fighting to escape. There's no reasoning with him, no getting him to turn himself in willingly- they'd tried it and it was the cause of their current problem.

Mick meets Coopers eyes and wills him to give him an idea, to come up with the brilliant plan that gets them all out of there alive. Because Rick is holding Cooper as a shield, gun to his head. Coopers eyes are unfocused and Mick knows he's not really with them at the moment. There's a large bump on his forehead, already swelling and a steady trickle of blood from a cut there. Backup is on the way but the others are spread out too far and Mick really doesn't have the time to wait for them.

"Let him go and we'll all walk out of here." He promises, voice steady.

"It's a trick! It's all a trick!" Rick screams, pressing the gun tighter against Cooper's head and Mick zeroes in on the movement. His finger tightens on the trigger and he forces his gaze away. "You'll kill me if I let him go!"

I'll kill you if you don't let him go, is what he doesn't say.

"No one wants to hurt you Rick." He says calmly and takes a small step closer.

Rick jerks and pulls Coopers larger form in front of him so Mick can barely see any of him. The man is small but strong.

"You do! You want to hurt me right now! You want to _shoot _me!" Mick takes a careful step to the side, trying to get an angle. There is none.

He bites the inside of his cheek and tries to focus on a response but his gaze is drawn inexplicably to Cooper's and what he finds there a _spark_. Cooper looks down and then back up before his gaze starts to go distant again. Mick stares at Coopers chest and thinks that he might hate himself a little for this.

Then he braces his feet, exhales and fires.

The bullet hits Cooper square in the chest and both the agent and the unsub go tumbling backwards to land on the dirty warehouse floor. Mick doesn't waste a second; he crosses the room, flips Rick Adams over and cuffs his hands together. If he's a little rough, he pretends not to notice. Then he uses Coopers handcuffs to cuff Rick to a sturdy pipe.

Beth and Prophet come running into the room and he knows Gina isn't far off.

"We called an ambulance." Beth huffs and heads straight for Cooper.

Mick beats her there, sliding to his knees in the grime and pressing his fingers to the other mans neck, checking that his pulse is still strong. It is and he lets out the breath he hadn't known he'd been holding.

"Wasn't he shot?" Prophet asks, hands hovering over the bullet hole in Coopers shirt.

"Yeah." Mick says and adds, voice a little ragged. "I shot him."

Beth gives him a startled look, then reaches out and peels opens Coopers shirt. There's a lightweight vest, used for undercover work, underneath. The bullet is imbedded in it.

"It worked?" Cooper asks, eyes blinking open and still a little groggy.

"It worked." Mick confirms and sinks back off his knees, until he's sitting half sprawled on the dirty floor and unable to move from sheer relief. Because if he'd been wrong…he can't think about that right now.

"When did you put on a vest?" Beth demands, poking lightly at the bump and cut on Cooper's forehead. It had been a last minute call, they hadn't expected to find anything in the old crime scene- it hadn't profiled that the unsub would come back there. So none of them had gone in with vests.

"At the station." Cooper admits with a small grin. "Call it a hunch."

"A hunch that I'd shoot you?" Mick wants to demand but it comes out much weaker. They all look at him but he just waves it off.

"And you knew he was wearing a vest?" Beth rounds on him next and he can tell that she's upset, upset that she wasn't told, upset that they might have purposefully left her out.

"I didn't." Mick closes his eyes and scrubs a dirty hand over his face.

"You didn't know and you still _shot him_?" Beth stares at him like he's sprouted a second head and he winces at the accusing tone in her voice.

"He knew it was safe." Cooper says and tries to sit up but stops when Prophet pushes him back down. He repeats it to himself- he knew it was safe.

::

"We're family."

Something makes Mick stop just around the corner. He holds his breath and listens, not quite sure why he is.

"We may be a family, the five of us," Gina replies and Mick can hear the smile in her voice. "But you and Mick are something completely different. Or maybe just more."

Mick smiles to himself and leans against the wall, arms crossed and posture relaxed.

"More?" Cooper repeats and Mick wishes he could see his face because for once his voice isn't telling him anything.

"Much more." Gina confirms. There's the sound of rustling papers and Mick shifts, adjusting the strap of his bag so it's no longer digging into his neck where his sweater has slipped.

"Maybe." Cooper says, half to himself and if Mick closes his eyes he can see Coopers lopsided smile, the soft, fond one. Its Mick's favourite.

Mick turns his head as footsteps approach and Prophet raises an eyebrow, knowing look on his face as he takes in Mick. Mick just grins and shrugs and wonders if Prophets going to spoil the game but the other man just keeps walking by him and into the room. He listens as he greets their teammates.

The conversation changes and Mick sneaks back down the hallway and then heads back towards their office.

Coopers eyes are on him as he walks in and Mick grins and nods and takes in the strange new look directed at him, the _knowing_ look and Mick thinks _finally. _

::

Mick shifts and tries to ease some of the pressure on his arms but his toes barely touch the ground so it doesn't do much good. His fingers are cold, too cold and he's lost most of the feeling in them. The cold is spreading down through his arms and he's terrified about what is going to happen when they finally get him down from there. Not if, _when_.

There isn't a doubt in his mind that his team is coming for him.

"Always prying, prying into my business." The unsub, a middle aged man, thinning blonde hair and a strong build, paces in front of Mick, knife in hand.

Mick's hands are tied high above his head with rope. His fingers are numb and clumsy and he can't find the knot. The rope bites into his wrists, cutting off what little circulation he has left and he tries very hard not to think about that and what it can mean.

His head is pounding, a steady throb radiating from his temple. He can't believe he let the unsub catch him off guard. He has no idea where he is- he'd been leaving the station to meet up with the others, it had been late. He isn't even sure who this guy is- he wasn't one of their suspects.

"Hey." Mick calls out, voice husky from disuse and he wonders how long he'd been out.

The unsub looks up, startled- grey eyes wide and manic, as he seems to remember that he's not alone.

"What's your name?" Mick asks. His head feels heavy and it's an effort to keep it up, but he manages, keeping eye contact with the man, keeping an eye on the knife.

"Jeffery." The unsub says and takes a cautious step towards Mick, like _he's_ the dangerous one.

"Okay, Jeffery. Can I call you Jeff?" The man nods slowly and shifts a little closer. "I need you to let me down."

"Let you down?" Jeff repeats, face blank.

"My friends," He tries. "Are coming. We'll walk out of here and no one will get hurt. Okay?"

He's having trouble focusing and the edges of his vision are greying.

"Your friends." Jeffery's voice is flat and Mick tenses.

All of the air rushes out of his lungs as Jeffery hits him, low in his stomach. He rocks back, loses his precarious balance and suddenly all that's holding him up are his arms, tied high above his head. He lets out a hoarse yell and scrambles to right himself as pain flairs through his numb arms.

"All you ever do is pry! Why wont people just leave me alone?" Jeffery yells, back to pacing, hand holding the knife waving erratically. "This is all _your _fault."

"No ones trying to pry into your life." Mick grits out, finds his balance and just breathes.

"Shut up!" Jeffery rounds on him again, and this, this is much more like the unsub they profiled, not the quiet, cautious man from before.

"You don't know anything." The man hisses, stepping in close. He reaches out and grips Mick's face in one, strong hand and drags the knife down his chest with the other. Mick sucks in a breath and tries to move away but cold grey eyes hold him in place. His thin t-shirt is no match for the wicked looking blade and tears open. Mick can feel the sting as the knife nicks him and he closes his eyes and thinks hard because now would be an amazing time to come up with a plan.

"Jeffery Rush!" They both freeze. "Drop the knife."

Mick pries his eyes open with a rush of hope. Cooper stands a few feet into the room, gun trained on the unsub and body tense with anger.

Jeffery meets Mick's eyes, his hand on Mick's chin tightening and forcing his head up just enough so his throat is bared and exposed.

"You don't want to do this Jeffery. You can still walk out of here." Cooper steps further into the room and the knife digs into the soft skin of Mick's belly.

He lets out an involuntary groan at the thin cuts and tries to shift away again.

"Jeffery, I know you just want people to leave you alone." Cooper swallows hard and takes another step closer. The knife stops, resting lightly against his skin. Mick tries to control his breathing, tries to brace himself for whatever may come next. But there is fear inching up his spine and if he's honest with himself it's been there since the beginning.

"They just keep prying." Jeffery mutters.

"I can take you to a place where they'll leave you alone." Mick meets Coopers eyes over the unsub's head and sees the matching fear there. "They'll never bother you again."

The silence that descends upon them is considering and tense. Mick tries to catch Jeffery's eyes, tries to find out what he's thinking but he keeps his gaze trained on the knife still held against Mick's stomach.

"You promise?" Jeffery finally asks and his voice sounds very small and timid.

"I do."

Mick holds his breath and finally the knife is lowered, and then dropped on the floor. The sound echoes off the cement walls, loud in the large, empty space.

Cooper doesn't spare any time in crossing the room and cuffing Jeffery. He secures the man and then turns to Mick.

"I knew you'd make it." Mick confesses as Cooper reaches up and slices through the rope easily with his knife. His knees buckle and as his arms are lowered gently to his sides the sudden rush of pain that accompanies it is overwhelming.

Cooper catches him as he falls and lowers them both to the floor. He wraps his arms around Mick and pulls until he's leaning back against Cooper's chest. One of Coopers large hands comes to rest on Mick's stomach, stemming the blood from the cuts.

"I didn't." Cooper admits quietly, a vulnerable tone to his voice and then taps his radio, speaking into it. "All clear. Send in a medic." He announces, then turns the radio back off. "I didn't know if we would find you." Cooper says, voice barely a whisper.

Mick meets Coopers gaze and thinks, _I trust you with my life. I trust you with my heart._

Warm understanding makes its way into the other mans eyes and he knows the sentiment is returned.

Mick can hear voices growing louder in the distance and lets himself relax a little, leaning back into Coopers warmth.

_I thought I'd lost you_, Cooper doesn't say as he tangles his other hand with Mick's gently.

I'm not going anywhere, Mick thinks and does his best to squeeze Coopers hand, so long as he has Cooper he's not going anywhere.

"You should have waited for backup." Beth mutters, crouching next to them and directing the medic over. He feels Cooper shrug and Cooper's smile is pressed against his temple in a kiss and Beth just rolls her eyes but she can't keep her own smile off her face. Mick lets out a soft laugh, despite everything.

Prophet hands Jeffery off to a couple of cops and then he and Gina join the protective circle around Mick and Cooper and the medic.

::

Early morning light filters into the apartment through the loft windows, casting a golden hue to the tiny kitchen. Mick putters about, careful to do so quietly, tidying up from the night before- collecting the half eaten takeout and empty beer bottles.

It's too early to be up, but every time he closes his eyes the previous days events come crashing back down on him and suddenly he's wide awake again. He presses a hand lightly over the gauze taped to his stomach and winces.

Muffled sounds come from the bedroom and he reaches out and sets up the coffee maker.

Mick has a mug of coffee resting loosely in his hands when the door finally opens.

"Hey." Cooper says as he walks out of his bedroom, still half asleep and dressed only in pyjama bottoms. Mick takes his time in looking, taking in firm muscles and dark skin and a sleepy smile that's all for _him_. "Morning."

Cooper closes the distance between them and leans in, close, so close.

"Morning." Mick murmurs back, grin widening when Cooper pulls the mug from his lax grip and takes a sip. The other mans eyes slip closed and he lets out a soft groan of appreciation.

Mick's jeans tighten and he swallows. He turns and busies himself with making another mug.

A warm hand rests on his shoulder and then slides down his bare skin, following the curve of his spine to rest on the small of his back.

"So," Cooper says and lips press gentle kisses against his throat. He leans back into the touch and turns his head to give the other man easier access. "Xbox?"

Mick smirks and turns, looping his arms around Coopers neck and stepping forwards until they're pressed flush against one another.

"Maybe in a bit." He says against Coopers lips and laughs, loud and carefree when Cooper hoists him up on the counter and kisses him.


End file.
